“Destination of the Month” on GreenTravelGuides.tv

Travel & Conservation programme-makers Green Travel Guides recently visited Hotel Mocking Bird Hill in Port Antonio, Jamaica, and celebrated how we "do things a bit differently" by nominating us as 'Destination of the Month' and filming this video about our local sourcing of supplies and our recycling & energy-renewing philosophy.

Share with your friends

Nice Day for a Green Wedding – Our Green Marriage Guide

With June to August, the most popular months to get married, looming big on the event horizon it seemed the perfect time to complement our status as one of the Top 10 Green Wedding Destinations by publishing our guide to the perfect green wedding!

Planning a wedding, green or otherwise, in a foreign destination inevitably adds some extra complications to the process, so it’s important that you have complete confidence in the hotel selected to host your special day, and in their wedding planner’s green credentials to meet your requirements. Ideally the green wedding should boost Fair Trade and support small-to-medium businesses and individuals, benefiting the local community & economy.

In addition to locally-sourced supplies, the hotel should ideally be able to help reduce the carbon footprint, and even help offset your carbon emissions by opting to contribute to a tree-planting programme, a living testament to your union!

Please click here to see the ways we promote Hotel Mocking Bird Hill as sustainable & green; this might also assist as a handy checklist to compare with what other green hotels are offering for weddings etc.

Quick Tips

Planning: Use the internet as far as possible. Recycle all magazines when you’re done by giving to community groups that make hand-made paper, like we do with the local Women’s Co-operative, to have custom invitation cards for your wedding.

Location: Closer to home is obviously greener, but since most couples plan on honeymooning abroad you might as well use this once in a lifetime opportunity to combine two special occasions into one dream tropical vacation! Venue sets the tone for your wedding day, and will account for a large amount of the overall cost. Using a venue such as a hotel for accommodation, hospitality, ceremony & reception helps save some money, avoiding for example no extra location rental fees, and avoiding unnecessary travel.

Ideally such a venue should also be able to offer Outdoor options when seasonally apt, as nothing says “green wedding” like an outdoor celebration! An outdoor setting helps lend a natural harmony to the whole event, as well as cutting down on decorations! At Mocking Bird Hill several outdoor options, including a unique local spot in either our gardens or art gallery, beachside or on the river.

Travel: Offset your guests’ impact on global warming with a carbon offsetting programme, or have them do it themselves as their gift to you.

Invites: The invitations provide the first impression your guests will receive of your green wedding, setting the tone and, if done right, saving trees and money.

The two main eco-friendly options are simply online using a blog-site or evites (paper-free virtual invites; there are a number of websites that provide great formats & suggestions); for a more lasting impression invitations made from 100% recycled, or “tree-free” paper. Postcards make for a more environmentally-friendly option than letters or cards within envelopes as well.

In your invitations, let guests know about the eco-friendly hotel and transportation options at the destination. Perhaps co-ordinate and offer group transportation to avoid individual transfers thus reducing carbon emissions.

Wedding Dress & Attire: Buy local, used, vintage or organic. It’s easy to find suppliers of organic hemp, linen or silk wedding dresses, or a dressmaker who can fashion a dress for you from such materials. Try and buy something you and your bridesmaids will wear again.

In Jamaica we recommend a simply elegant cool linen dress, perhaps with a hand-drawn Hardanga lace from the nearby women’s co-operative.

Go Vintage! Use mum’s old dress or one made from vintage/remnant fabrics, and update & accessorise, maybe with a piece of family jewelry.

Stay Cool! Our weddings for example are mostly casual, a linen shirts & trousers sufficing the groom, perhaps waistcoat rather than jacket; if wanting the formal tux it’s probably best to have one tailored, as renting is not as green as one might believe, due to the chemicals used in dry-cleaning.

Table Decorations: Add beauty and style to your wedding décor, naturally. Use pesticide-free garden blooms or locally grown flowers. Spray leaves with gold/silver paint as place mats and consider use of fresh fruits in glass jars with flowers to give a local flair to table decorations.  We can use dried leaves, twigs, driftwood, seeds etc. for decorations. Potted plants can be given as gifts to be ‘re-gifted’ by planting locally.

Chic Eclectic! Utilise old adage “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue” for your table, with old heirlooms and interesting antique bric-a-brac, items that can be hand-painted with personalised message, organic cotton hemp, bamboo, linen runners & napkins that can be reused or passed on, and perhaps ask friends & family to borrow heirloom linen, candle stands and vases… Blue? how about considering a non-traditional wedding colour?!

Place Cards: Use natural objects like leaves, twigs, wood chunks, as free card holders. Or combine card holders and favours in one by using palm-leaf hand fans to acts as seating cues and help keep guests cool. Natural stones can be hand-painted to indicate seating too, and are wonderful as paperweights.

Photography: Ditch the one-time use disposable cameras. Ask your guests to bring digital cameras and email the pictures so that you can add them to your blog or create a Flickr group.

Wish list: creating a custom wish list of eco-friendly items like a basket of local specialties from some local artisan producers or a locally made wicker picnic basket to take home with you or contributions to an eco-friendly honeymoon such as gift certificates to enjoy a meal or an excursion. You can use our online registry for this

Charity: Ask guests to gift to charity instead of inundating you with kitchenware! For example you can ask your guests to either make a financial contribution or bring anything they can contribute to our ENOUGH programme  to help and help disadvantaged school children.

Share with your friends

Artistic Lighting via our Beautiful Recycled Chandelier

How do you like our new recycled chandelier? 

Not only does it give great ambient lighting but it ensures that all our recent wine and vodka bottles that gave so much enjoyment when they were filled are now put to a further use recycled usefully and artistically.

We researched the web for ideas on how we could integrate them and took our ideas to our welder.  It took him approximately 5 days in all to complete our fun way to recycle old bottles.  We hope to find more fun and creative ways to recycle in the future.

Share with your friends

Come Hear us Speak at Green Your Biz 2011

Come and meet us as we speak at 'Green You Biz 2011' at the University of West Indies to learn about some of our useful sustainable business practices at  Mocking Bird Hill.

On March 22, 2011, E.C.C.O Magazine, Jamaica’s leading eco-friendly lifestyle publication, will host “Green Your Biz 2011: Creating ECO-nomic Solutions” at the University of the West Indies’ Mona Visitors’ Lodge.

The inaugural conference will feature organisations that are leading the way in corporate and social responsibility while adopting ways to make them more competitive in the new global marketplace where the environment, people, and profits are interconnected.

The discussions will provide practical information on how effective carbon reduction strategies can lead to cost savings, demonstrate how to leverage environmental action to gain a competitive advantage, outline the business case for sustainability, and highlight the opportunities for “green” marketing.

Click here to find out more and register

Share with your friends

Jamaica’s Palace in a Bottle

Each and every hotel’s reputation around the world is built upon its team of staff that quietly work away in the background to ensure all their guests’ expectations are met, and guarantee the most perfect holiday that promises guests return home refreshed & invigorated.

Donald, our most imaginative King of recycling, crafted the gazebo utilising the glass wine bottles that our guests drink to create a protective wall that keeps any strong breezes at bay whilst the team are sitting down.

Here’s what Anne Marie, Senior Chef thinks:

“If you love nature and like to listen to the sound of birds and the breeze, then our break room is the place to be. Can you imagine having your coffee break or lunch taking in a breath of fresh air, looking at the trees dancing to the wind or watching the rain pounding the earth?

Before my break is up I personally like to relax a few minutes on the adjoining patch of lawn we have there. We have received the older pool deck chairs and can put our feet up and relax a bit, whilst meeting to have a chat with the other team members.

Compared to a lot of staff rooms that are located in the cellar or consist of a closed room, it’s great to relax in the open.   The ‘Palace’ as we have called it is the place to be to have your break and cool off.”

Share with your friends

Luring Birds to the Garden with Year Round Colour

This beautiful Vanda Family Orchid called Amy has just come into bloom in the Hotel Mocking Bird Gardens. With five petals you may find these type of orchids having several flowers on one stem.

We try and ensure a year-round colour display from our plants and trees to encourage diversity in the gardens, which birds particularly love and also ensures that the birds don’t become dependent on us and the use of feeders which in affect upsets their environment.  

The 22 endemic birds that visit our gardens are the magical keys to a bio-diverse garden, pollinating, keeping pests down and helping to disperse seed, and growing colour to attract them is one of the least tiresome tasks of running an eco-hotel!

Share with your friends

65% Powered by the Sun

 

Our eco credentials have grown and our carbon footprint decreased by the recent addition of a further 18 solar panels & 6000-watt inverter system now installed at Hotel Mocking Bird Hill.  These new additions mean that 65% of the hotel’s energy needs are now provided by the cleanest source possible that is available in abundance to Jamaican hotels.

This was provided by the Caribbean Trade and Private Sector Development Programme (CTPSDP) funded by the European Union, 9th European Development Fund for CARIFORUM Countries.

Share with your friends

Say a Green I Do & Never Go Hungry

 

Planning a green wedding is difficult enough in today’s economic climate when tying the knot can feel like you are applying more of a financial choker! Additional worries that your travel agency et al might not even still be financially viable when the special day arrives is but one more element of stress you could certainly do without. As more & more companies in this sector go to the wall how can you plan that perfect eco-wedding and ensure that your passionate hopes for a green, luxurious and glorious occasion with oh so lovely finishing touches will even come to fruition, let alone happen within budget?

Hotel Mocking BirdHill in Port Antonio, Jamaica, is the Caribbean’s No.1 Eco boutique hotel. They offer not just a romantic setting, where the Blue Mountains meet Jamaica’s North East lush coast, but guiltless indulgence, allowing you to get married safe in the knowledge that your tailored wedding is as organic & green as you wanted even down to floral arrangements; pesticide-free fresh tropical flowers, handpicked from the hotel’s gardens which is listed as one of the top bird-watching venues in Jamaica by ‘Birds of the West Indies’.  Most importantly, due to Mocking Bird Hill’s scalability and integration with the local infrastructure those organising your big day are guaranteed to be in operation next year and for many many years to come.

Hotel Mocking Bird Hill believes in sustainable tourism where all members of the community benefit from your special day in Jamaica, resulting in a customised and unique wedding for you that comes with no hidden environmental costs. Many large chain hotels import mass-produced cheaper ingredients that need to balance their net profit forecast; this not only increases food miles but has no added benefit for the local community beyond those they employ.  At Hotel Mocking Bird Hill, our bottom line is raised a little higher in not just the requirement of gourmet organic tastiness from our ingredients that are sourced locally wherever possible, but long-term sustainability for all.

Exclusive to Hotel Mocking Bird Hill is not just the bottle of fizzy loveliness and scrumptious wedding cake included within our ‘Intimate Wedding Day’ custom-made package, but a romantic breakfast on the day served up high in this eco-boutique’s hotel ‘Perch’, that has the best vista of the coastline in the area, and a dinner served in the romantically decorated gazebo. For those bringing parents to the wedding, we offer the chance for all members to get to know one another with a free morning’s cooking course before the big day, which provides not just an opportunity to relax and get to know one another but to develop some skills to help you remember the tastes of your honeymoon vacation in Mocking Bird Hill, recreating them effortlessly at home.

US $ 1366 is the cost of an intimate wedding for a bride & groom, which includes all floral arrangements, boutonniere, licenses, photography, wedding planner and our  Artisan Surprise Menu -  a 4-course dinner which can include lobster if it’s in season, and is tailored to your individual preferences using locally sourced seasonal ingredients.

Share with your friends

The Simple Ways to Ensure Bio-diversity

June has arrived, and today at Hotel Mocking Bird Hill in Jamaica’s lush undiscovered North East of the island we’re celebrating being half way through the UN’s official year of bio-diversity!

Diversity in all living things enriches our lives but, more importantly, biodiversity is essential to life on earth. It maintains a functional environment; it is a resource for food, shelter, clothing and other materials. Each country’s economy relies on biodiversity since it provides renewable economic resources and utilisable ecosystems alongside numerous medical and scientific benefits, as well as preserving priceless cultural & aesthetic values.

Enhance the Quality of Soil, Water & Air
One simple way we can all promote this special year is by learning as much as we can about nature and sharing that knowledge with others. This is why we will begin posting some simple information on our website to help raise an understanding of the issues both locally & internationally.

Habitat Stewardship

Increasing our knowledge of environmental issues and providing awareness of the impacts of biodiversity loss ensures ensure that we can all participate in biodiversity conservation and habitat stewardship (maintaining & encouraging our immediate environments).  From supporting UN to actively aiding local government policies and initiatives that conserve our valuable ecosystems we can help preserve natural lands as well as actively working with local or national agencies to monitor and conserve wildlife species and their habitat. 

In the next coming weeks we will be providing a weekly tip on habitat stewardship, whether it’s what you use to clean your sinks to what you plant in the garden, keep checking back to find out more about what you can do.

Share with your friends

Full Moon & Tree Frog Chorus at Jamaica Eco-Lodge

There are many things that make staying in an eco-lodge in Jamaica special.  One could be that it doesn’t require “roughing it”; you can still be ‘green’ and enjoy guiltless luxury if you stay at Port Antonio’s elegant Hotel Mocking Bird Hill, voted best Caribbean eco-hotel by American Express.

We believe that an eco lodge should be sustainable and be ‘green’, but that should in turn not affect style or comfort. Therefore all our rooms are large and airy, with cool white tiles, handcrafted bamboo furniture and original artwork.  Each room is ventilated naturally by cross sea breezes, but which keep out the elements in times of rain; in turn they allow you to be serenaded to sleep by an ecological evensong, the tree frog chorus.

More rhythmic chirping than deep bass croaking from these tiny choristers, their calls are made by keeping both their mouth and nostrils closed, whilst they use the muscles in both their body and throat to oscillate the air between the mouth sac and their lungs, a bizarre biological process to create the most perfect lullaby.

The tree frogs love our bio-diverse tropical gardens, and are just part of what allows to keep our lush gardens organic; they keep a check on creepy crawlies and in turn attract birds, which has established this tranquil eco-retreat as one of the” best birding sites on the Island” (Birds of the West Indies).

View Jamaica's Official Eco Hotel & Lodge Rooms & Rates 

Share with your friends

Next Page »